BIG TEN TITLE CHASE
Iowa's women's basketball team has become a serious player in the chase for the Big Ten championship.
The Hawkeyes (13-7 overall, 6-3 Big Ten), winners of four consecutive games, are tied for second place in the conference, one game behind leader Ohio State.
Expect those standings to change after this weekend. Ohio State plays at Illinois tonight, while Iowa plays at 11th-place Northwestern (4-16, 0-8). Minnesota and Purdue, the two teams tied with the Hawkeyes for second place, play in West Lafayette, Ind.
On Sunday, Minnesota plays at Ohio State, while Purdue is Northwestern and Iowa is at home against Indiana.
The Hawkeyes, who have won seven of their last 10 games, also are making a run at an NCAA tournament bid. Iowa's RPI has jumped to 40.
BRACKETOLOGY
If the bracketologists are right, look for Drake to be anywhere from a 3 to a 5 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Jerry Palm of CollegeRPI.com has Drake a 3 seed in the East Regional. Joe Lunardi of ESPN.com has Drake a 4 seed in the East. Both have Drake playing its first-and second-round games in Denver. Rivals.com had Drake as a 5 seed.
CONVENTIONAL WISDOM
The BracketBusters pairings will be announced Monday on ESPNU.
It is highly likely Drake will be playing at Butler, a matchup of Top 25 teams.
That also means Butler will play at Drake next season in a return matchup.
NUMBERS DON'T LIE
Anyone wondering why Oral Roberts and IUPUI have cemented themselves at the top of the Summit League standings only have to look at the league statistics. The two lead in 11 of the 19 team categories.
Oral Roberts leads in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense, 3-point field goal percentage defense and blocked shots. IUPUI leads in scoring margin, free-throw percentage, 3-point field goal percentage, rebounding defense, turnover margin and assist-to-turnover ratio.
ALREADY BETTER
Western Illinois starts the second half of Summit League play Thursday night with a home game against UMKC.
The Leathernecks are 4-5 in league play, already surpassing their conference win total in each of the last two seasons.
The start is also the best first-half for a Western Illinois team since the 1997-98 season.